David Leggat: Great Office Sweep is but one sign of Cup fever

Every four years, people who wouldn't know their square balls from their 4-4-2s go gaga over soccer.

The world's biggest single sporting event kicked off this morning, and that means The Great Office Sweep.

So for the next month this column will be distinctly neutral on the World Cup.

Players like Pascal Zuberbuehler, Christoph Spycher, Blerim Dzemaili and Tranquillo Barnetta will trip off the tongue from this south-western corner of the room, along with regular cries of "Go You Good Swiss Things".

And sitting in group G alongside the fading French, one-hit wonders from Korea and first timers Togo, I reckon my lot are a cinch to make the second round.

The usual cries of "it's a jackup" rang round the room as the names were matched with the teams. After all, if you drew Angola or Costa Rica you might well look askew at the chap who drew Brazil, who as it happens is another fine chap of good Canterbury stock.

The early appeal in the World Cup lies in watching the fascinating matchups. Tunisia v Saudi Arabia; Mexico v Ecuador, Angola v Serbia and Montenegro, that sort of thing.

Then there's the great name game. My favourites include Ukrainian defender Dmytro Chigrynskiy, the only player with 11 letters in his name and just two vowels; or the bloke with the perfect name for a rugged back, Ivan Hurtado of Ecuador; Argentina's goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri, which has a flowing Italian feel to it; and my personal favourite, Fred.

Just Fred, nothing else. A bit like Pele, albeit with a bit of a gulf in class, but both Brazilian and both strikers. I will be watching Fred's progress with interest. To get in the team he needs to leapfrog Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Robinho, Ricardinho, Adriano and a couple of other o's along the way.

A couple of tips. To win: Argentina. The long shot: Czech Republic.

* Persuading the European powerhouses to pack up and decamp to the bottom corner of the globe takes some doing, so it's time to salute Rowing New Zealand for securing the 2010 world championships.

Even allowing for international governing body Fisa's wish to spread the championships outside Europe once every four years, consider that Australasia has not got a look in since Tasmania hosted the event 16 years ago.

Those with long memories will remember the spectacular success of Don Rowlands and his team when Lake Karapiro hosted the 1978 champs. That can't have hurt.

In beating off the only other bidder, the Netherlands, New Zealand cleverly cited points of difference, notably the quality of the venue, the scenery and the belief that the championships will draw crowds.

That's not always the case in Europe, but the bid team pushed the point that New Zealanders love top-level sport. They paraphrased the line from Kevin Costner's otherwise corny baseball movie Field of Dreams: if we put it on, people will come.

The gate receipts target is selling 10,000 weekend passes for the two finals days at $110 each. If in four years' time, New Zealand's pre-eminent position on the water is still intact - and there's no reason why they should not still be among the more formidable rowing nations - the prospect of watching New Zealanders win world titles on their own waters should push those numbers up.

The thought occurs: would New Zealand have prevailed over the Dutch, who had significant financial muscle behind their campaign, if it had not been for the four gold medals won at last year's champs in Japan?

Probably, given that the bid was a polished operation, with the Prime Minister and Olympic champions Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell doing their bit. But undeniably when going to pitch for the rights, being able to point to that gold haul when it's still fresh in the memory, can't hurt.

Two world champs in consecutive years, rowing then rugby, is clear evidence New Zealand can mix it with the biggest in chasing the big shows.